It is hard to get excited after looking at Mueller Water Products' (NYSE:MWA) recent performance, when its stock has declined 11% over the past three months. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company's financials over the long term, which in this case look pretty respectable. In this article, we decided to focus on Mueller Water Products' ROE.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. In other words, it is a profitability ratio which measures the rate of return on the capital provided by the company's shareholders.

View our latest analysis for Mueller Water Products

How Is ROE Calculated?

The formula for return on equity is:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Mueller Water Products is:

12% = US$88m ÷ US$704m (Based on the trailing twelve months to June 2022).

The 'return' is the amount earned after tax over the last twelve months. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.12 in profit.

What Is The Relationship Between ROE And Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. Generally speaking, other things being equal, firms with a high return on equity and profit retention, have a higher growth rate than firms that don't share these attributes.

Mueller Water Products' Earnings Growth And 12% ROE

At first glance, Mueller Water Products seems to have a decent ROE. Even when compared to the industry average of 13% the company's ROE looks quite decent. Given the circumstances, we can't help but wonder why Mueller Water Products saw little to no growth in the past five years. We reckon that there could be some other factors at play here that's limiting the company's growth. For example, it could be that the company has a high payout ratio or the business has allocated capital poorly, for instance.

As a next step, we compared Mueller Water Products' net income growth with the industry and were disappointed to see that the company's growth is lower than the industry average growth of 8.4% in the same period.

The basis for attaching value to a company is, to a great extent, tied to its earnings growth. What investors need to determine next is if the expected earnings growth, or the lack of it, is already built into the share price. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is MWA fairly valued? This infographic on the company's intrinsic value has everything you need to know.

Is Mueller Water Products Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

Despite having a moderate three-year median payout ratio of 45% (meaning the company retains55% of profits) in the last three-year period, Mueller Water Products' earnings growth was more or les flat. So there could be some other explanation in that regard. For instance, the company's business may be deteriorating.

Additionally, Mueller Water Products has paid dividends over a period of at least ten years, which means that the company's management is determined to pay dividends even if it means little to no earnings growth. Existing analyst estimates suggest that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 32% over the next three years.

Summary

In total, it does look like Mueller Water Products has some positive aspects to its business. Yet, the low earnings growth is a bit concerning, especially given that the company has a high rate of return and is reinvesting ma huge portion of its profits. By the looks of it, there could be some other factors, not necessarily in control of the business, that's preventing growth. That being so, the latest analyst forecasts show that the company will continue to see an expansion in its earnings. To know more about the company's future earnings growth forecasts take a look at this free report on analyst forecasts for the company to find out more.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.